The title says "my biggest blessing here in Lao". Being here in Lao is for me the biggest experience of my life. I get to live away from home for the first time, I get to eat a lot of good food, I get to work with nice kids, I get to work with deth`s parents, I get to have Kristian/Bonlai as my partner, I get to attend a very good church, I get to experience poverty, I will soon get to see NMS` projects here in Lao. But biggest of all, I get to live and be friends with the Lao PEOPLE.
They are so amazing. Where ever you go, they meet you with a smile. They are helpfull. They are kind. They are not rich. They er humble, and that is only a few of their qualities.
Here`s a story that proves the qualities of Lao people.
On friday I attended a wedding for a guy in the church. And as always, I do my share of helping out with cleaning and stuff. But before I started to help with the disches, I left my camera bag by some tables, a little bit out of sight. In the bag I had my camera (Nikon D40), passport, driver liscence, visacard and some money. When I finished the cleaning and went to get my bag, it was gone.
Not to worry, the bag, with everything was found the day after. Some kids had taken it to play, and one of the fathers took the bag with him home. But, the cool thing is how the people in the church helped me. I started to look for my camera,and within 5 min, everyone left at the church were looking. They called everyone they knew had gone to the wedding, even though it was late. They didn`t hesitate. We gathered and prayed together. And on my way home from church, I got three phone calls, from people saying how sorry they are, that they will pray, that they hope it`s not stolen. And the day after, when I got my camera back, many people came up to me, saying how happy they were and that they had prayed a lot.
The way the Lao people backed me up with wishes, prayers and thoughts, show me the quality of the people.
I thank God that I am so lucky to live with them, and to have them as my friends. When I leave Lao, the people is what I`m going to miss the most. They truly are my biggest blessing here in Lao!!
søndag 22. februar 2009
torsdag 12. februar 2009
Teaching English in Laos
My maintasc here i Laos is to teach English
The teaching is both fun and challenging. Escpecially since the kids here do what ever they want, when ever they want. And even though their mainteacher sits right by their side, they act like what we in Norway would call spoiled little kids. And the teacher, he does nothing, until its like chaos in the classroom.And even if I can get them to sit down, they are on it again, after five min.
But...
I like it. Teaching them new words, see the expression on their faces, when they understand what I want them to understand. I don`t care if they are noicy, shouting to each other or just walking between each other. I don`t care. Just to see them understand, just to be able to talk a little bit more english with them, for each week. It`s worth every minute in that classroom.
And it gets even better. When I say, in lao language, that I won`t be back until wednesday next week, and they get sad.. That tells me, that even though they`re not always paying attention, they like having me as their teacher. And they are learning more and more.
By learning more and more, for each time they study, they open up new ways trough their lifes. In a couple of years they can speak english well enough to go to the university. Then they can get a good job, feed their family, and help bringin Laos out the ditch the country is in. For those who don`t know. Laos is on of the worlds poorest countries. Last time I heard, it was the worlds 3. poorest country. if that is true, I don`t know, but still. It`s country in desperat need of educated people. And I am helping kids to be able to get that education. Maybe there is a light in the end of the tunnel for these kids. How blessed am I to help them get there??
But, I have managed to make a tiny tiny tiny kultur mistake with the teaching. The humor in Norway is based a lot on irony. The humor in Laos is NOT. So with me using kind of norwegian inspired humor in my teaching, has resulted in the students looking at me as strict and not so very happy.. Ended up with one of the other teachers at the school telling me to smile more. A bit difficult to smile on commando, but I`m doing my best:P
The teaching is both fun and challenging. Escpecially since the kids here do what ever they want, when ever they want. And even though their mainteacher sits right by their side, they act like what we in Norway would call spoiled little kids. And the teacher, he does nothing, until its like chaos in the classroom.And even if I can get them to sit down, they are on it again, after five min.
But...
I like it. Teaching them new words, see the expression on their faces, when they understand what I want them to understand. I don`t care if they are noicy, shouting to each other or just walking between each other. I don`t care. Just to see them understand, just to be able to talk a little bit more english with them, for each week. It`s worth every minute in that classroom.
And it gets even better. When I say, in lao language, that I won`t be back until wednesday next week, and they get sad.. That tells me, that even though they`re not always paying attention, they like having me as their teacher. And they are learning more and more.
By learning more and more, for each time they study, they open up new ways trough their lifes. In a couple of years they can speak english well enough to go to the university. Then they can get a good job, feed their family, and help bringin Laos out the ditch the country is in. For those who don`t know. Laos is on of the worlds poorest countries. Last time I heard, it was the worlds 3. poorest country. if that is true, I don`t know, but still. It`s country in desperat need of educated people. And I am helping kids to be able to get that education. Maybe there is a light in the end of the tunnel for these kids. How blessed am I to help them get there??
But, I have managed to make a tiny tiny tiny kultur mistake with the teaching. The humor in Norway is based a lot on irony. The humor in Laos is NOT. So with me using kind of norwegian inspired humor in my teaching, has resulted in the students looking at me as strict and not so very happy.. Ended up with one of the other teachers at the school telling me to smile more. A bit difficult to smile on commando, but I`m doing my best:P
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